by Edie Melson @EdieMelson
I love writing. And I love talking about writing.
The one thing they don’t do is write.
Writing is hard work. Avoiding it is often easier than just sitting in the chair and banging out words. There comes a time though, when we have to just quit procrastinating, sit in the chair and write.
Edie Melson—author, blogger, speaker—has written numerous books, including While My Soldier Serves, Prayers for Those with Loved Ones in the Military. She’s also the military family blogger at Guideposts.org. Her popular blog for writers, The Write Conversation, reaches thousands each month, and she’s the director of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference. Connections: Social Media & Networking Techniques for Writers is a print expansion of her bestselling ebook on social media. She’s the Social Media Mentor at My Book Therapy, the Social Media Director for Southern Writers Magazine, and the Senior Editor for NovelRocket.com. Connect on Twitter and Facebook.
I love writing. And I love talking about writing.
Sitting around with other writers, discussing all things literary is one of my favorite things. It’s one of the reasons I love attending writing conferences.
But there are people we know who like talking about writing so much that’s all they do. They join writers groups, critique groups, even take classes.
But there are people we know who like talking about writing so much that’s all they do. They join writers groups, critique groups, even take classes.
The one thing they don’t do is write.
Unfortunately, this problem of avoidance can happen to any of us.
Writing is hard work. Avoiding it is often easier than just sitting in the chair and banging out words. There comes a time though, when we have to just quit procrastinating, sit in the chair and write.
Today I’m going to share some things I do when I’m tempted
to do anything but write.
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| Be creative when you set goals. |
- Set a goal. I play games with my goals. Sometimes I’ll set a time goal—I’m going to write for an hour—no matter what. Sometimes I’ll set a word count goal—I’m not going to get up until I’ve written 1000 words.
- Set a reward. I try to avoid food related goals, but truthfully, nothing helps the words flow like the promise of chocolate.
- Break it into manageable pieces. Don’t tackle a hard goal all at once. Break it into small manageable bits. This will help you see the progress.
- Turn on the music. For me, music (instrumental—no words) helps me get in the groove.
- Change the scenery. When I hit a wall, it helps to go around it—literally. If I’m in my office, I may move to the dining room or even the back porch.
- Turn off the Internet. Or at least log off your social media. It’s tempting to ask for support or commiseration on Facebook, but it can lead to conversation. And the only words you need are the ones that show up on the page.
 |
| Schedule a write-in. |
- Schedule a Write-in. Get a friend or two and hold each other accountable. If you can’t meet in person, get together online, through Skype or a Google Hangout.
- Throw up on the page. NO, not literally. But I’ve found that sometimes I have to write junk before I can get to the good stuff. So go ahead and write crap, get it out of the way and keep going. Chances are there is something useable in it.
Now I’d like to hear from you. What tricks have you found to
keep yourself in the chair banging out words when you'd rather be somewhere else?
TWEETABLE
Edie, these are all good suggestions. As I thought through what I wanted to say in my comment, I read about all the positions you hold, which begs the question: When do you have time to write? If you've discovered a method of cloning yourself, let us in on the secret.
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